Sakura smiled, swinging her and Syaoran's intertwined fingers to and fro as she inhaled the sweet, fresh scent of the air and felt the sun by her face. It had been three weeks since Syaoran had come back from Hong Kong, and the two of them had spent nearly every day together.
Syaoran had been the perfect gentleman, always arriving early for their dates and paying for their food, but he seemed hesitant to take their relationship further than holding hands and eating ice cream together on a sunny afternoon.
It didn't help that Touya managed to trail them around town. On their second date, Syaoran had taken her to a popular restaurant only to spend the entire meal shivering as Touya cheerlessly waved a meat cleaver in their direction. Sakura was sick of it! She wasn't little anymore, and it wasn't like Syaoran was going to jump her as soon as the two of them were alone!
"Sakura," Sakura glowed as she heard her beloved's voice, "would you mind loosening your grip a bit?"
"Eh?" Sakura asked, before she looked down at their hands. She was clutching Syaoran's hand so tightly that his fingers were blue!
"Syaoran-kun! I'm so sorry!" She immediately cupped his hand, lifting it closer to her face to examine the damage. His hand looked sore, and she could see a bruise forming where she had been holding it too tightly, but other than that he would be fine.
Sakura smiled, remembering how, when she was little and she got bruises or cuts through her own carelessness, her father would gently kiss them. It would make her so happy!
Without thinking, she imitated the actions of so long ago, touching her lips to Syaoran's skin.
"S-Sakura," Syaoran turned as red as the bows in her hair. Sakura looked from him to his hand, which was still centimeters away from her lips, and back.
"Kyaaah!" She screamed in embarrassment, clutching her burning cheeks.
Syaoran, still bright red, opened his mouth to say something, but the warning bell rang with a startling finality. Syaoran and Sakura glanced at each other before Syaoran grabbed her hand and the two of them raced up towards their classroom. They couldn't afford to be late again!
Kurogane grumbled as he quickly stuffed his homework back into his book bag. The kendo club had run late again, and he hadn't had time to finish all his work the night before. Not that he really cared about school, but his mother could be scary when she was angry, and Kurogane's ear was still sore from the last time she twisted it.
Turning the corner to the corridor that held his class, room 9-A, Kurogane noticed Fay, the weird foreign kid who had transferred to their school at the end of the last term, staring out a window with a large, lopsided grin on his face.
"What're you looking at?" he asked, leaning against the opposite wall.
Fay smiled at him. "Morning, Kuro-pyon. I am watching those two." He pointed out the window to two kids, probably seventh graders by the looks of them, who were running hand-in-hand towards the school, laughing.
"Che, you shouldn't waste your time watching random kids," Kurogane informed him factually. Last year, when Fay had still been new, the teacher had assigned Kurogane to show him around, hoping that the polite foreigner would manage to instill a sense of decorum into an otherwise unruly student. Her plan had worked horribly, as Fay proved to be just as troublesome as Kurogane, despite having top-notch grades.
"But they are cute, Kuro-tan," he answered, "especially the girl in pigtails."
Kurogane shrugged, trying clutching his book bag a little tighter in an attempt to distract his anger and frustration. Ever since summer vacation, he'd gotten a funny feeling in his stomach whenever the blond boy was around him. It was a fluttery, girly feeling, often accompanied by sweaty hands and a racing pulse. And sometimes, when Fay did something he probably thought was perfectly innocent, like bending over to tie his shoelace (which came untied a lot) or stretching his arms and exposing a bit of the creamy flesh hidden underneath his uniform shirt, Kurogane's nether regions would stir embarrassingly, and he would feel hot and sweaty, and extremely hungry—only not for food.
His parents, classmates, and the internet had taught him what these feelings meant, but knowing what they were and feeling them for a classmate—a male classmate—was completely different.
"Oh, Is Kuro-sama jealous?" Fay asked, tilting his head to the side and offering up an expanse of smooth, pale skin that looked every bit as creamy as the treats him mother sometimes ate but promised to taste much better. "Don't worry. I won't go after a girl when I have you."
Fay wrapped his arms around him briefly but tightly. Kurogane caught a whiff of the fresh, wintery scent that always clung to Fay, and pushed him off a roughly.
"Stop joking around," he growled to his classmate, who laughed lightly.
"Kuro-sama's so easily embarrassed," Fay teased, pinching Kurogane's nose between his thumb and forefinger and sticking out his small pink tongue.
"Bastard!" Kurogane yelled, ignoring how the fluttering in his stomach had increased ten-fold. "Get back here and let me kill you!"
Fay was already darting down the hallway, laughter in his light eyes. Kurogane was helpless to do anything but follow.
Sakura's eyes were as wide as saucers as the teacher announced the results of the student council elections. Tomoyo smiled at her from her seat on the other side of the classroom, and Syaoran whispered his congratulations to her.
Sakura knew from her older brother that, during middle school, each student was required to be in at least one club. One class hour each day, usually right before lunch when the students had trouble focusing in academics anyways, was left aside so that these clubs could meet, and there were even days reserved after school for each club. Still, she had no idea how she could have been elected to the student council. She was only a first year, and the student council was an elite group made up of students from all three years. She hadn't met enough people to become that popular that quickly. For someone like Tomoyo, who was the lead in the school choir, it wasn't that surprising, but her, little old Sakura being sent as well?
The students around her talked to themselves, and despite her numbness, Sakura caught fragments of their conversations.
"Her older brother was quite well known—"
"—a cute girl like that, no wonder she was chosen!"
"Daidouji-chan is no surprise, but I would've never guessed Kinomoto—"
Tomoyo walked over to her desk, a wide smile on her face. A few of the cruder boys whistled at her friend. Over the last few months, Tomoyo had developed into quite the young lady, and even if it weren't for her mature figure, her long black hair and wide eyes held a certain feminine beauty to them that was undeniable. Sakura glanced sadly down at her flat chest before mentally smiling to herself. Syaoran never seemed to care that there were other girls that were more developed than her, or girls whose faces didn't have her baby fat—he was completely loyal and love-stricken, and that made Sakura feel like the most beautiful girl in the world.
Still, it was surprising Tomoyo didn't have a boyfriend. Sakura had seem many boys ask her, but Tomoyo always politely turned them away, telling them that she could never give them her heart, so she did not want to lead them on. When Sakura had asked Syaoran about it, he had turned bright red and muttered something unintelligible before telling her not to worry about it with a distant, fond look in his eyes.
"Sakura-chan, let's go to the student council meeting. It would be rude for us to be late to the very first one."
Sakura smiled up at her friend, and the two of them headed to classroom 9-D on the third floor. It was the room reserved especially for the student council.
Kurogane's head jerked towards the door when he heard the knock. Fay, who had been lying on the teacher's desk, stretched out like a tired cat, turned lazily as well.
"Aaah, those would probably be our two other members, Kuro-tan. You should get the door; it's rude to keep them waiting." He smiled and promptly dropped his head back onto his arms.
Internally grumbling to himself about lazy foreigners who used their long legs and pretty smiles to get others to do their bidding, Kurogane swung the door open to face the two other members of the student council, the secretary and treasurer.
Kurogane had been shocked when his name was announced right after Fay's. It was true that students could vote for any student they liked (whether said student asked for it or not), but Kurogane, despite being a star in kendo, did not think he was likeable enough to get the entire school on his side.
Both the girls were short; neither of them came up to even Kurogane's shoulder. He almost couldn't believe the first girl was only in seventh grade. She reeked of a maturity that reminded him of his mother and seemed polite, though the mischievous gleam in her violet eyes reminded him far too much of Fay. The second girl was the one he'd seen this morning, and she was indeed 'cute.' Even though Kurogane wanted to be angry at her, with her wide green eyes and short, kiddish hair, he found himself likening her to the little sister he never had.
"Sorry we are late," the first girl spoke, bowing her head lightly. "We got lost."
Kurogane nodded in response. Since it was the teachers who moved from period to period rather than the students, many first years did not know the building well enough to find their way around. He had never thought that was unusual until Fay had informed him that where he came from, it was the students who walked from class to class.
"My name is Tomoyo," she introduced herself, "and my adorable companion is Sakura-chan!"
Sakura blushed at the complement, twiddling her thumbs together.
Kurogane felt a sudden weight on his shoulder and wasted no time on glaring at the blond who apparently felt the need to lean on him like some sort of lamp post.
"My name's Fay. My grumpy vice-president is Kuro-chan ("Kurogane!" Said Vice-president interjected angrily.) It's an honor to be working with two such lovely girls."
Fay paused, adjusting his position so that he was leaning more comfortably on Kurogane's shoulder. Kurogane glared at him, but couldn't bring himself to push the other boy off. Fay's body was warm, and his hand was brushing Kurogane's. The cool, soft skin sent shivers up his spine; it wasn't a bad feeling.
"So I guess while we're here we should play a game to get to know each other better!" The enthusiastic president waved the two befuddled girls into the room. "Let's sit in a circle and take turns telling each other our most private secrets!"
"No way," Kurogane grumbled, shoving Fay away and attempting to retreat.
"Anyone who doesn't has to strip down to their undergarments and race through the school!" Fay announced.
Kurogane was blessed with the image of Fay in only a pair of boxers, glancing at Kurogane over his shoulder, a finger tapping the side of his mouth thoughtfully. Kurogane felt a sudden heat growing between his legs and growled.
"Idiot! Who are you to decide something like that?" he asked, grabbing a ruler to be used as a weapon. ("Kinky," the unclothed Fay in his head decided with a leer. Kurogane ignored him.)
"I am the president, which means I am in charge!" Fay announced gleefully, spinning around like a drunk ballerina.
"I'll show you who's in charge!" Kurogane yelled before raising the ruler over his head like a sword and chasing Fay between the desks.
"And then Kurogane-san chased Fay-san around the room with a ruler." Sakura related the rather bizarre incident to Syaoran while spearing a cherry tomato with her chopsticks.
"That sounds… Interesting," Syaoran responded with a smile, propping his archeology book up against the tree they were sitting under. When Sakura's father had met Syaoran (as Sakura's boyfriend instead of a bratty school boy), the two of them had had a long discussion and Syaoran had come out of it carrying six books on archeology that her father had recommended. At first his reading had been a little half-hearted, but Syaoran had quickly become addicted to her father's passionate hobby.
After all, Sakura noted, Syaoran was hardly the little boy he had been when Sakura met him. Without the pressure of spending his nights chasing the Clow Cards around, he had more time to dedicate to his studies and was an all-star student. That along with his passion for soccer, which he had picked up when he was in Hong Kong, had made him much more mature.
At times, Sakura was afraid she'd lost the Syaoran she'd fallen in love with, but then she'd look into his eyes and see the glimmer or adventure and magic, and she knew that while they'd both changed, they'd changed together, and that was all that mattered.
She blushed suddenly, thinking about what Fay had said to her when she'd told him about her relationship with Syaoran. Do you kiss a lot?
"Syaoran," she paused, trying to figure out how to bring up such a sensitive topic.
"Yes Sakura," Syaoran smiled at her, his attention focused solely on her words.
"Do you ever think about kissing me?" Sakura stared at Syaoran from underneath her bangs, hoping her face was not as red as the tomato she'd just eaten.
Syaoran blinked before blushing heavily. "Of course, all the time… Not that I'm a pervert! I mean—" he cut himself off before he said anything else, and took a deep breath. When he spoke again, he still looked as flustered as Sakura felt, but he managed to retain his composure.
"I think about it a lot," he told her, turning his face to the side, "but I don't want to… Pressure you into it. You've waited for me for so long, and I don't want to mess anything up."
Sakura's heart was beating two-hundred times a minute. She leaned forward a bit, until she could feel Syaoran's breath on her face. "And what if I told you," she took a deep breath, hoping her courage wouldn't give out, "that it wouldn't mess anything up at all?"
Their lips met timidly, and Sakura's eyes closed lightly. Syaoran's lips were warm and just a little bit chapped. She pushed her lips more firmly against his, and suddenly felt something hot and wet lick at her bottom lip. Nervous, but completely trusting in Syaoran completely, she opened her mouth to allow Syaoran's tongue access to her own.
Gently, he explored her mouth, running his tongue over her teeth. Sakura pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck and touching her tongue to his. It was hot and wet and it felt wonderful in a way Sakura had never felt before. Syaoran tasted like the chicken he had just eaten, but also something completely foreign and completely Syaoran that she had never tasted before, though now that she had tasted it she didn't know how she had ever gone without.
So engrossed was she in their kiss that she forgot the need to breath until Syaoran pulled away, smiling and blushing. Sakura took a deep breath, filling her deprived lungs with oxygen and feeling warm and tingly all over.
"Sakura!" Sakura practically fell out of her position—half on Syaoran's lap, half leaning against the ancient tree behind them—when she heard her friend Tomoyo's voice.
Tomoyo walked up to the two lovebirds, the foreign president Fay and the grumbling vice-president Kurogane trailing behind her. Kurogane was kicking a stone along, completely tuning out the world while Fay caught Sakura's eye and gave her a knowing smile.
"Fay just had the most brilliant idea," Tomoyo told her friends, though her eyes focused on Sakura, the unsaid tell me later floating through the telepathic line that exists between best friends. "He said that the student council should host a masked costume dance to raise money for the school!" Tomoyo clasped her hands together in front of her face, the stars in her eyes telling Sakura all she needed to know.
"Costume?" Sakura laughed apprehensively. She had a feeling that part of the idea had been Tomoyo's.
Syaoran squeezed her hand tightly. "We should talk about this later."
He nodded to the two other males, wiping the grass off his clothes as he got to his feet and helped Sakura to hers. Leaning over, he reached for Sakura's partially unzipped book bag. He picked it up, but a horribly familiar book fell out of it.
Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo all watched with wide, horrified eyes as the book harboring the Sakura Cards fell.
"Got it!" Fay announced triumphantly, catching the book in an outstretched hand and handing it to Sakura.
Sakura heaved a sigh of relief, taking it back gratefully and wondering how she would have explained everything to her new friends if the cards had fallen all over the ground or accidentally activated. In the years since she had gotten the cards, Kero had been teaching her to activate them without using the full incantation. Now all she had to say was "Release!" It made things a lot quicker, but the cards were also much more volatile because of it, and sometimes they were set off by the simplest things.
Sakura's hand accidentally brushed Fay's, and a shock jerked through her body, followed by the familiar feeling of power. What was that? She wondered. As she hugged the book to her chest, she glanced at Fay to see if he felt anything, but he was smiling as carelessly as usual.
It must have been my imagination, she decided.
The bell signifying the end of lunch rang loudly, echoing through the courtyard, and Sakura hurriedly stuffed the book back into her bag.
"We should get back to class," Kurogane said in his low, rumbling voice, before turning and leaving. Fay chased after him, demanding that Kuro-pi carry him. When Fay jumped onto the bigger boy's back, Sakura was sure that Kurogane would toss him to the ground, but to her surprised the muscular upper classman looped his arms underneath Fay's legs and hauled him away as the blond laughed delightedly.
"Are those two…?" Syaoran trailed off, looking at Tomoyo. Said girl laughed lightly, shaking her head.
"Not officially, but it's only a matter of time," she answered.
"Huh? Those two? Official? What are you talking about?" Sakura asked, wide-eyed.
Syaoran took her hand in his own, Tomoyo—who through the years had grown slightly more casual—looped an arm through Sakura's free one and smiled evilly.
"Ohohohohohoho!" She laughed. "Our adorable Sakura is still too innocent to notice things of that nature!"
Sakura shrugged and decided she really didn't want to know. It was probably nothing, or the two people she trusted the most would definitely tell her. Besides, Sakura could feel Tomoyo to her left, Syaoran to her right, the Sakura cards' magic in her book bag, and the entirety of the sun and sky above her. She didn't need anything else.
Kurogane couldn't fall asleep. He tossed and turned and held his pillow to his head to block out the extra light, but it was no use. "God damn it," he muttered angrily, shoving the blankets off and storming out of the room. He lived with his mom in one of the several small, suburban houses that surrounded Tomoeda. Fay lived down the street from him, one of the many students who dwelt in the large housing development.
Kurogane was just getting himself a glass of water—people said warm milk worked better for sleeping, but Kurogane was lactose intolerant—when he saw something through the living room window. Wondering what type of moron would be out so late, especially when it was unseasonably cold outside, Kurogane moved the curtains aside a bit and stared through the blinds.
What he saw nearly made him drop his glass of water.
Fay, glowing so brightly he could be one of the stars, stood out in the street, holding a hand out to an ethereal looking girl that looked far too old and wise to be anything close to human. Fay opened his mouth, and Kurogane leaned closer to the window, straining his eyes. Fay was too far away to hear, but Kurogane had become quite adept at reading lips. It was one of those necessary skills a student had to have in order to pull off elaborate pranks during class.
"Go, Arrow," was what Fay appeared to say, and the odd creature (girl?) turned and moved away so quickly he almost didn't see it.
"What the fuck?" Kurogane swore.
Suddenly, Fay turned towards him, almost as if he could hear him, though Kurogane knew that was impossible. Kurogane ducked behind the partition between the two living room windows. He waited with baited breath until the eerie glow Fay emitted vanished.
Kurogane couldn't quite pinpoint why he was hiding; he definitely wasn't scared of Fay, but he had a feeling that both he and Fay were somehow safer if Fay didn't see him.
He had always had a feeling, from the first time Fay's eyes met his, that Fay was hiding something from him, something big. After a while nothing had happened, and he'd started to let it go, but tonight his suspicions were renewed. Taking a deep breath, Kurogane headed to bed, leaving the glass of water on the kitchen counter.